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I hope to open again: Pandey

Pune Warriors India batsman wants to learn more from his skipper and teammates

By Hoshedar N. Gundevia

Pune 24 April 2012

Sport is all about seizing the advantage when given an opportunity. The Pune Warriors India lost their reverse fixture against the Delhi Daredevils, but the Sourav Ganguly-led side could well have found an answer to their ever-changing opening situation. Manish Pandey made the best of the opportunity given to him as he proved his class against a top bowling attack.

Pandey’s unbeaten 80-run knock was overshadowed by Virender Sehwag’s match-winning innings. But the 22-year-old’s batting display was the only shining light on an otherwise uninspiring day for the Warriors. With the opening slot proving to be a huge source of worry for PWI, the budding right-hander has gone a long way in making his case for claiming that position in the batting line-up. Excerpts from the brief chat with Manish Pandey:

Were you lacking in confidence before this knock?

Not exactly; I was waiting to open the innings as I am used to it. Dada [Sourav Ganguly] gave me the opportunity and I am blessed. I was playing well in the nets and I was just waiting for a good opportunity.

Do you feel you’ve done enough to open the batting permanently?

As I opened the batting today and played well, I’m hoping that I will open in the next game as well with Jesse [Ryder]. This was probably the opportunity I was waiting for. Today, I played a decent knock. If I continue playing such knocks and contribute to the team, I will definitely get the chance to open again.

Are you hoping that the national selectors were watching this innings?

If I do well in the IPL, I might get a chance to play for the national side. You face a lot better bowlers at the international level and IPL is a confidence and a morale booster for all the youngsters.

PWI is in the top four in the IPL. Where do you see your team going from here?

We didn’t do so well in the last season, and this time we came back really hard and strong. We have been playing some good cricket and beat DD in Delhi but couldn’t do it here today. It depends on the performances of all the players; their accumulative efforts.Despite some ordinary performances in the previous games, Dada kept faith in you.

I played only four out of the eight games. Dada gave me fair chances and I could have done better. I got to open in one game and couldn’t capitalise [on] it. I was pushed down the order after that, which doesn’t suit my style of batting. If I keep doing well, I’ll stick to this position and perform well for my team.How has your experience with PWI been so far?

We have world-class players in the team and Dada as our leader. There is a lot to learn as a 22-year-old. I need to keep working hard and keep myself strong in order to improve my game.

Viru is an open-minded leader: Umesh

After catching the eye of one and all in the third season of the Indian Premier League, Delhi Daredevils pacer Umesh Yadav finds himself being touted as the future of Indian fast bowling.

The 24-year-old has had a mixed IPL season so far with wickets being hard to come by. However, barring individual success, Umesh has succeeded in cementing his place in a Daredevils side that is fast turning into an IPL powerhouse.

With an all-star batting line-up to bank on, the DD bowlers often fail to get their share of attention. But the budding pacer admits that the bowlers in the capital city’s franchise breathed a collective sigh of relief upon seeing their team’s talented batting line-up.

The strapping speedster was all too happy to chat exclusively with iplt20.com after DD’s eight-wicket win over PWI in Pune.

Last season was pretty disappointing for DD. How does it feel to be on the top this year?

Last year, our team wasn’t balanced and this year it’s a very good team. We got a good start and hope to carry this form in the remaining matches.What’s brought about the change in fortunes?

Last year, it was a new team, so we couldn’t get a good combination. This year, we bought KP [Kevin Pietersen], Mahela [Jayawardene] and Ross [Taylor], and that strengthened our batting line-up. And now we have a good bowling line-up, which makes our team balanced.

Do you feel secure as a bowler, knowing that the team has an all-star batting line-up?

As a bowler, you would never want to go for runs. But there is a sense of security that we have depth in the batting to cover it up.How easy is it to bowl with Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan?

Morne has played a lot of cricket and knows more about the game. So whatever I try and learn from him, he helps me out in that; and same goes with Irfan as well. I enjoy bowling with them.

What’s it like playing under Virender Sehwag?

He is a very open-minded captain. He tells us to bowl the way we want to and lets us set our own field. It’s really good to play under him.Do you think Kevin Pietersen and Virender Sehwag are the most devastating batting duo this season?

Both KP and Viru are in good form, which is really good for our team. If they continue their form, it will help our team win more matches.

Did you expect such a good start before the season had started?

The team was very confident and all the youngsters were hungry to win after the first season debacle. We were all prepared to give our best to the team.